Upon hearing Yuan Yi’s response, Yuanshi simply gave him a deep look and said calmly:
“You are tainted by baleful energy, but it is not the result of your own slaughter—it is not your fault. That much I can see. Lacking in fortune, yet self-aware—this is a virtue. Those who lack self-awareness yet seek recklessly are foolish and laughable. Those who are self-aware but fall into depravity are pitiful and sad. You are neither. That is very good.”
Yuan Yi was slightly surprised. Not only was he not disliked, but he was even complimented a little. Even if it was most likely said out of courtesy for his teacher Tongtian’s sake, it was still rare and unexpected.
No—actually, the fact that this Second Master-Uncle showed up here at all was already surprising. Yuan Yi couldn’t figure out what was going on.
If you were to say he was just out for a leisurely stroll and happened to end up here, Yuan Yi wouldn’t believe it.
They may never have met this master-uncle before, but surely the other party knew they were here. So there’s no such thing as coincidence in this case.
This meant that Second Master-Uncle had come specifically to see them—but for what reason? Yuan Yi had no idea.
Especially since he came alone, not together with their teacher Tongtian.
Surely it wasn’t that Second Master-Uncle was here to evaluate them on behalf of their teacher? Like a background check?
Yuan Yi didn’t dare think too deeply. He respectfully listened and accepted the guidance. Not being disliked was already a good outcome.
To be honest, what he wanted most was to be a “nobody,” someone who didn’t attract attention.
At present, Yuan Yi indeed hadn’t committed much killing—he was born too early for that. He had only slain a few dragons, who themselves were steeped in karma. The fact that they hadn’t been turned into merit offerings was already testament to their deep foundations, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Yuanshi, observing Yuan Yi’s respectful demeanor and attitude, was quite satisfied, and gave a few more words of instruction:
“Your teacher is good at teaching skills, but neglects the transmission of the Dao. I see that you are working to suppress the influence of the baleful energy on yourself—that’s good. But there is one thing you must be careful of: knowing which part of you is your true self, and which part is the influence of the baleful energy. If you cannot see through this, you will never reach the Taiyi realm and see your true self. Your Dao will be incomplete.
What you are suppressing—is it the baleful energy, or is it your own inner evil? If you cannot distinguish the two, then whether you blindly suppress or indulge, both paths will lead you to harm.”
“Disciple thanks Master-Uncle for the guidance.”
“Mm. As for the taste of the Immortal Apricot, I shall answer that for you as well.”
Yuanshi nodded, and this time, his tone even carried a hint of a smile.
Two apricots flew toward Yuan Yi and Bixiao. Beyond their intense innate spiritual energy, they carried a profound aura of Dao laws—innate qi swirling about. Fruits of an innate spiritual root!
The two looked at each other. Yuan Yi’s surprise deepened, while Bixiao’s eyes sparkled with joy.
Of course, neither would refuse. Something like this was incredibly rare and precious for them.
And they shouldn’t refuse either. A gift from an elder—turning it down would be a great disrespect.
After gifting the Immortal Apricots, Yuanshi departed, vanishing without a trace.
Yuan Yi stroked the apricot in his hand, sensing the Dao aura within. Was this Second Master-Uncle always so easygoing? And so generous? It felt different from what he’d heard about him.
Or maybe that’s not it. Maybe it’s because the Three Pure Ones haven’t yet split paths and still live in harmony, so they treat them like family—and even give them gifts when they meet.
Yuan Yi couldn’t help but wonder when he might meet the Eldest Master-Uncle. In truth, he really hoped to receive some guidance from that one.
Why? Because Yuan Yi’s path is the Dao of Yin and Yang, and among all beings in this vast world, that Eldest Master-Uncle was undoubtedly among the most accomplished in this field—perhaps even the very best.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Let alone receiving guidance—just meeting him would be next to impossible, given his temperament.
According to Duobao, the Eldest Master-Uncle was the hardest to meet—he rarely made any public appearances.
“What are you doing?”
Yuan Yi glanced at Bixiao, raising an eyebrow, only to see her eyes shifting back and forth between his hand and her own.
“Comparing the size.”
“…”
Even if you look, I’m not swapping with you—unless your Immortal Apricot is bigger, Yuan Yi thought, too lazy to deal with her.
Bixiao didn’t linger long. She happily trotted off with her apricot in hand.
But not long after, she came bouncing back to tell him that her two elder sisters also received welcome gifts from Second Master-Uncle.
After Bixiao left again, Yuan Yi looked up at the three Dao runes above his cave residence, shook his head, and entered the cave to begin seclusion.
Ordinary spiritual fruits might only satisfy hunger, but fruits from innate spiritual roots were entirely different—especially the first time they were consumed. They needed to be refined properly and could potentially lead to great improvements in cultivation.
With his current low cultivation level, Yuan Yi felt a distinct lack of security. He owned nothing of value and hoped to eventually obtain some spiritual treasures.
Now that he had backing, he could try competing a little—see if he could catch any falling treasures in the Kunlun area when opportunities arose.
He had also considered earning some heavenly merit, but that path hadn’t gone as hoped.
He’d imagined casually creating something and receiving divine merit as a reward—such good fortune had never come his way. The Heavenly Dao didn’t pay him any attention. That road was a dead end for now.
Yuan Yi consumed the Immortal Apricot—its taste was truly delightful. Then he entered deep seclusion to comprehend the Dao.
The same was true for the Sanxiao sisters—they had also gone into seclusion.
In the Primordial World, time was meaningless and worthless.
Yuan Yi had already gotten used to spending several thousand or even tens of thousands of years at a time in seclusion.
Before the third Dao lecture at Zixiao Palace began, their teacher Tongtian had visited them once, delivered a Dao lecture of his own, and then left Kunlun for the Zixiao Palace to attend the next sermon.
Yuan Yi had already refined most of the Immortal Apricot and made great progress in his cultivation. According to his estimates, fully refining it could bring him to the late Golden Immortal stage—a direct breakthrough to the next sub-realm.
In terms of cultivation, he remained slightly ahead of the Sanxiao sisters, but hadn’t been able to widen the gap.
However, the gap between him and Duobao and the others was narrowing. Their rapid growth phase was coming to an end, though, so catching up in the short term would still be tough.
Life as a cultivator was peaceful—the Kunlun Dao grounds were their ivory tower.
Here, they faced no dangers. They didn’t need to do anything, and there wasn’t much they could do either.
They cultivated in seclusion, occasionally gathered with their fellow disciples to discuss the Dao—it was a harmonious atmosphere.
With so few people, there was little drama or conflict. Even counting the Elder of the South Pole, there were only eight of them—too many women, too few men.
Yuan Yi wasn’t especially skilled at making friends. He got along fine with everyone, but didn’t grow particularly close to anyone.
Among the three male disciples, Nanjie Xianweng was a man of few words, Duobao was obsessed with refining treasures and spent his days wandering around Kunlun Mountain, while Yuan Yi, though he also used to roam in the beginning, eventually began staying inside his own Dao field and rarely stepped out.
Duobao had a natural talent for sensing treasures, but after realizing there probably weren’t any valuable ones left to pick up nearby, he gave up.
The female immortals, however, were much closer with one another. They often gathered for tea, discussed the Dao, and occasionally invited Yuan Yi and the others to join them.
Unknowingly, more than ten thousand years had passed since they came to Kunlun. However, compared to the time Yuan Yi had spent with the Three Xiaos, his interactions with the others had been far less frequent.
Perhaps for this reason, Yuan Yi remained much closer with the Three Xiaos, and they felt the same toward him.
Nothing seemed to have changed—Yunxiao would still come visit at fixed intervals to sit and chat, while Qiongxiao (the second sister) and Bixiao (the youngest) were regular visitors.
One was quiet, the other talkative. What they had in common was their inability to stay still—and they were both afraid of their elder sister Yunxiao. The two often ran to Yuan Yi’s place to “take shelter,” especially when they had angered Yunxiao.
What they didn’t know, however, was that sometimes Yunxiao would come and drag them back because Yuan Yi secretly notified her.
Why did he do this? Well, watching those two get scolded by Yunxiao was amusing—it added a bit of color to his otherwise peaceful cultivation life.
After all, Yunxiao never lectured him. She was always calm and graceful, so seeing her scolding someone was rare and rather entertaining.
Once he finished refining the immortal apricot, Yuan Yi predictably broke through to the late-stage Golden Immortal. By this time, it had been nearly ten thousand years since the Three Pure Ones had left Kunlun to attend the third sermon at Zixiao Palace.
Yuan Yi didn’t know exactly when the sermon would end—he was simply waiting for that moment to arrive.
“Senior brother, what are you looking at?”
“I’m looking to see if a spiritual treasure might fall from the sky.”
“Senior brother, have you cultivated yourself silly? How could a treasure fall from the sky?”
Yuan Yi turned his golden eyes to the two sisters who had come running over for who-knows-what reason again.
“You two don’t look very happy. What happened, did you anger Yunxiao again? Tell me quickly, let me be happy, how about it?”
Qiongxiao gave him a long, silent stare. Bixiao directly widened her eyes in protest, clearly displeased at his schadenfreude.
But the next moment, Yuan Yi—who had been lazily lounging in a chair—suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming with divine light as he looked into the sky.
“Go call your big sister, a treasure really is falling from the sky!”
He had seen it—a flash of spiritual light in the heavens, plummeting toward the vast desolate land.
It had only been a brief glimpse, but he was certain he hadn’t been mistaken—after all, he had been watching for a long time now.
“Senior brother, you might be able to fool Bixiao with this, but—” Qiongxiao began, clearly skeptical, but before she could finish her sentence…
She too caught sight of that flicker of light in the sky—it really did look like something had fallen.
Bixiao was about to protest her second sister’s words when Qiongxiao suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward Jinxia Cave, going to get Yunxiao.
Meanwhile, Yuan Yi’s figure vanished on the spot—he was heading out to try his luck.
Of course, he’d only be searching within the vicinity of Kunlun Mountain. It was too dangerous to go beyond.
They didn’t have the strength to truly fight for great fortunes—they could only rely on the backing of their powerful master to pick up treasures that happened to fall on their doorstep.
Beyond this territory, that kind of backing didn’t count for much.
But as long as they were within Kunlun’s bounds, others would have to respect the face of the Three Pure Ones.
The Three Pure Ones were among the most powerful of all innate divinities, and now that the third sermon had concluded, their status might be even more exalted. No one would dare brazenly trespass on their domain to steal a treasure.
And this opportunity—this treasure—if they could get it, might be Yuan Yi’s chance to shed his identity as a “nobody cultivator.”
Kunlun was vast, and as one of the top spiritual lands in all of the Great Desolation, surely one or two treasures were bound to fall here.
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